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closeSunday, May. 31, 2009
Collectibles have historical, spiritual value
By Terry Maurer, What's it Worth
Items both spiritual and functional, from two different cultures, are what What's It Worth readers want to know about today.
The functional are some very fancy buttons from Japan. The spiritual is a replica of an Aztec god.
Q. I found these buttons in a drawer after my mother passed away. Since "Satsuma" sounds Japanese, I wonder if my father brought them back after the war. Can I use them? Are they valuable? -- Ruth in Kennewick
A. Buttons have been connectors to hold parts of garments together and decorative devices, sewn on as embellishments. The earliest buttons go back to at least biblical times. The fanciest were made in the 17th and 18th centuries and production was worldwide.
At one time, there was a notion that collecting a string of 1,000 buttons would allow a young woman to find her true love. These old strings -- all types and shapes of buttons were used -- are sometimes found in estates and are called "charm strings." They are of the highest value when complete, not separated.
Button collecting is a very popular hobby. The first collectors organization in the United States was the National Button Society, organized in 1939 in Chicago. Today it has members in nearly every state, as well as internationally. Their national convention draws hundreds of enthusiasts every year.
Satsuma is a type of pottery that was made by the Japanese for export in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is characterized by a cream-colored body and an ivory-to-white crackle glaze (it looks like tiny fractures). It was produced in many forms, from dishes and vases to buttons.
Decorated in fired-on colors over the glaze, the earlier Satsuma examples are much encrusted with gold.
The six buttons on this card would sell for about $60. There is a small premium for the fact they are carded. The single button is better quality and earlier production, with more gold, so it would bring $30 to $40.
Large antique examples, which can be as big two inches in diameter can sell for several hundred dollars each.
You can certainly use the buttons both as functional items and as decoration. Just remember to remove them from the garment before it is sent out for cleaning!
Q. Since 1970 I have had a pair of these "corn" god figures that came from near to the the town of Paplotla, Tlaxcala, Mexico.
They were given to me while I was a student at the University of the Americas in Cholula, Puebla, Mexico. They appear to be made of a straw and adobe mixture, are in excellent condition, are 73/4 inches tall and have never been cracked or repaired. Both came from the same area and appear identical although they have significant differences. Can you fill in some blanks for me? -- Alfredo in Pasco
A. Items that date to the period before ancient peoples in what is now Mexico had contact with Europeans are a very specialized field. Each requires examination by a specialist to determine authenticity and value.
Corn god figurines like this can date well back before the Common Era, that is to say, before the year one. They also can be purchased today in souvenir shops across Mexico City.
Cinteotl was the Aztec god of corn, a very important deity in their religion. He usually is depicted as a young man and often has corn stalks woven into his hair.
Maize (what we call corn today) was literally the staff of life for these ancient people and the rituals surrounding the planting, growing season and harvest were carefully maintained.
It is beyond the scope of What's It Worth to try to value this pair, even with the excellent photos Alfredo provided. Examples such as these are held in many of the major museums in Mexico and the United States.
However, as we've noted, there are also many tourist souvenirs available and some look quite authentic to the untrained and inexperienced eye.
That said, we have seen what are purported to be authentic examples of these figures selling for $400 to $600 on internet sites. Tourist souvenirs would be much less.
We'd suggest contacting a major museum, perhaps the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City, to see if they can provide additional information or recommend a specialist.
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